Physician, bestselling author and global thought leader Deepak Chopra has joined the Honorary Board of the Drug Policy Alliance, the U.S.-based organization that is leading the fight for drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.

The DPA Honorary Board (see below) includes prominent figures from both the left and the right who are renowned for their leadership in the fields of law, health, business, media and politics – from Harry Belafonte, Russell Simmons and Sting to the former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci, and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker.

Chopra is an Indian-American physician who has sold more than 20 million books worldwide, including 19 New York Times bestsellers. He is a former chief of staff at New England Memorial Hospital who went on to found the Chopra Foundation, the Chopra Center for Well-Being and the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine. He currently serves as Senior Scientist at the Gallup Organization and as an Adjunct Professor of Executive Programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

“When was the last time Congress or the states looked at prisons with a moral eye? America leads the world in the number of people incarcerated, more by percentage of population than in Stalin’s gulag. A vast disproportion are black. A huge number are non-violent drug offenders, often condemned to outrageous time behind bars thanks to draconian state and federal laws with mandatory sentencing. A recent New Yorkerarticle that outlined the grim statistics of overcrowding and skyrocketing expense called our prison system America’s moral shame.”

“Then there is the plight of black America. Dry statistics speak of soaring unemployment, crime, and family breakdown. In the African American community, actual community is hard pressed to survive. Poverty is endemic. Seventy-five percent of black babies are born to single mothers. More young black males are in jail than in college. A hugely disproportionate number of black drug users and dealers are arrested and sent to jail compared to their white counterparts, even though actual drug usage is no higher in the black community.”

“We are grateful for Deepak’s passion and thoughtfulness in articulating the moral urgency of drug policy reform,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “I am delighted that he has joined the Honorary Board of the Drug Policy Alliance. His commitment to this cause provides us with an ally of enormous importance.”